Haeet de lanoy



(No Model.)

H. DE LANOY..

MAIL BAG UATGHER.

No. 313,339. Patented Apr. 21, 1335.

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NITED STATES ATENT Erica.

HARRY DE LANOY, OF HASTINGSDN-THE-HUDSON, NEW YORK.

MAlL-BAGCATCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 316,339, dated April 21; 1885.

Application filed April 2, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY DE LANOY, a resident of Hastings-on-the-Hudson, in the county of VVestchester and State of New York, have invented a new and useful apparatus for catching and receiving in and delivering from postal or other railway-cars while in rapid n1otion,without stopping or checking the motion of said cars, mail-bags; and I do declare the following to be a description ofthe construction, arrangement, and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus apart from its attachment. Fig. 2 is an end view of the apparatus. Fig. 3 is a side view of a portion of a postal or other railway-car, with receiving and delivering apparatus in position for receiving and delivering mail-bags at the same time. Fig. 4. is a plan view of a supporting-crane upon which the mail-bag to be caught by a passing train is suspended,

and upon which is attached that portion of the apparatus for receiving a mail-bag from a train in motion. Fig. 5 is an elevation view of the supporting-crane, with a mail-bag suspended in position for delivery to a passing car, and the receiving apparatus for catching a mailbag from the car at the same time, also in po- Fig. 6 is a view of a car approaching a supporting-crane to deliver and receive a .mail-bag Without stopping or checking its motion. Fig. 7 is a view of a car having received a mail-bag in passing a supportingcrane, and delivered one to the receiving apparatus on said crane.

Like letters indicate like parts in all the drawings.

I now proceed to describe that portion of the apparatus attached to a postal or other railway-car.

A metallic rod, A, Fig. 1, in bearing-boxes bolted to the door-jambs of a car, carries at 0, Fig. l, a lever, E, and a pin, G. Upon depressing inward toward the center of the car lever E, rod A will rotate until the rotation is stopped by contact of pin G with pin H, or arm projecting for that purpose from side of bearing-box B. Thus stopped, the lever E will lie in the same plane as the axis of rod A. Likewise, the arm or catching-bar I, secured purpose hereinafter described. The arm or catching-bar I is firmly secured to sliding sleeve K, and is bent from the line of the rod A to a deflection from said rod until it subtends an angle of twenty degrees, (more or less,) so as to form an acute angle at L, Fig. 1. Four or five feet, or as the requisite length may be, from sliding sleeve K the arm is turned outward, and bent so as to point to the rear of the car, the radius of said outward bend being not less than six inches,the extremity of said bend being not less than six inches, the extremity of said bent end being provided with a spring clasp-hook to hold one end of a mail-bag for delivery, as hereinafter described. spring N is made fast, its bent end passing through ahole or slot, 0, in said rod, andthrough which it moves freely.

At P is a slot or opening in bar A. This slot or opening is made to receive and hold one end of bent rod U, said end of rod U being held. and secured by any well-known suitable device for speedily attaching or detaching said rod with bar A. Rod U is bent so as to form a right angle, the two arms being of equal or unequal length,as may be required, one being attached to the rod A, as above described,the other carrying a spring clasp-hook. When the rod'U is attached to the rod A, as hereinbefore described, one arm of the rod U will be in the same plane as the axis of rod A, and the other perpendicular to it.

On rod A, at M, the bent That part of the apparatus attached to the supporting-crane a for delivering to and receiving mail-bags from a passing train is like that of rod A, and its attachments, except the bent rod U, which is not required,. and are designated in the drawings by the same letters. Y

- ing-boxes f have a web upon their backs or under sides, which pass througha mortise, e, in the upright and receive a pin, g, to hold them in place. Upon crane a rod A is placed in boxes f, pointing in direction opposite to that of a passing train, where cars pass in one direction; but when cars pass either way on a single track, and the direction of rod A requires to be changed accordingly, rod A is taken from its bearing-boxes, reversed end for end, and replaced in the boxes,when the apparatus will be in required position. The coiled spring upon rod Ais placed between the sliding sleeve K and the bearing-box f next adjacent to it, bearing against both. The purpose of the spring is to overcome a part of the inertia of a mail-bag when first struck by the catcher, and reacting so as to bring the bag and apparatus int-o equable motion with the train, and also affordingayielding pressure to the mail-bag when caught upon the apparatus on the crane.

From the above it will be readily seen that on the approach of a postal car to a station where a bag is to be delivered and one received the postman attaches a bag to the end of the arm I and the other end to the end of bar or rod U, said rod U being previously connected in the manner above described with rod A, and, depressing the leverE toward the center of the car, places a bag in position for delivery and the apparatus in position to catch or re ceive a bag at same time. The top of a bag being suspended at the end of the bar on the cross-piece of crane a and the, other end held by arm I of the apparatus upon the crane a, the bag will be in position to be caught by the catcher on the car. At the same time the bag for delivery from the car will be in position to be caught by the catcher on the crane. At the moment of contact between catcher and bag (either upon the car or crane) the bag will be detached from the spring cliphooks, and, sliding along the arm I, will dopress spring N in passing to strike against sliding sleeve K, said spring reacting, pre venting the bag from falling from the apparatus. On raising lever E the bag will be drawn into the ear and released by depressing spring N. In like manner the bag caught upon the crane will be released by depressing spring N.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a mail-bag catcher, the combination, substantially as before set forth, of the horizontal shaft, the catcher-arm projecting at an angle from said shaft to form a crotch, and the automatic stop held normally across the crotch by spring-pressure.

2. In a mail-bag catcher, the combination, substantially as before set forth, of the horizontal shaft secured to rotate in its bearings, the collar mounted to turn with said shaft, the catcher-arm secured to the collar, and the automatic stop held normally across the crotch by spring-pressure.

3. In a mail-bag catcher, the combination, substantially as before set forth, of the horizontal shaft, the catcher-armand its collar secured to turn with. said shaft, and the springactuated stop secured to the horizontal shaft with its free end held normally across the crotch of the catcher. v

4. In a mail-bag catcher, the combination, with the horizontal shaft, of the catcher-arm secured to said shaft, and provided at its outer end with a rearward-extension, and the detachable angle-rod secured to the horizontal shaft, with its free end terminating in avertical plane with the end of the rearward extension of the catcher-arm, substantially as before set forth.

5. In a mailbag catcher, the combination, substantially as before set forth, of the horizontal shaft secured to rotate in its bearings,. the catcher-arm having its collar keyed to said shaft, but adapted to move longitudinally thereon, the pin G, secured to the shaft, the fixed pin ,H, and the spring to yieldingly support the catcher-arm against rearward movement.

6. In a mailbag catcher, the combination, substantially as before set forth, of the horizontal shaft, the catcher-arm having its collar keyed to said shaft, but adapted to move longitudinally thereon, the spring-actuated stop secured to the horizontal shaft and held normally across the crotch of the catcher, and the Ico .IIO

spring to yieldingly support the catcher-arm against rearward movement.

7. In a mail-bag catcher, the combination, 7

HARRY DE LANOY.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL EMBERSON, J. A. GHRYSTIE, 

